As we head into the 2026 short legislative session, one thing is clear: Oregonians are paying attention, and they are fed up with the status quo.
In record time, more than 250,000 Oregonians signed a petition to refer Governor Tina Kotek’s $4.3 billion transportation tax package to the ballot. The requirement was just 78,000 signatures. Oregonians didn’t just meet that threshold. They shattered it.
That didn’t happen by accident.
It happened because families, workers, and small businesses are stretched thin. Costs keep going up. Results keep falling short. And when state government’s answer is once again to raise taxes, Oregonians are saying ‘enough is enough.’
The message from voters could not be clearer: Stop reaching deeper into their pockets and start taking responsibility for how existing dollars are spent.
State government should tighten its belt the same way Oregon families are being forced to tighten theirs. Senate Republicans are entering the 2026 short session with that message front and center.
The Reality Facing Oregonians
While the majority party has already signaled that it wants to spend this session focused on national political distractions and scoring partisan points, we are staying laser focused on the problems Oregonians are dealing with every single day right here at home.
Housing is still unaffordable. Child care is still out of reach for too many families. Our schools are failing to prepare kids for the future. Homelessness and drug use continue to grow despite record spending. State government, from the Governor to state agencies to this Legislature, continues to ask for more money without delivering better outcomes. And too often, campaign donors and political allies drive the agenda, while working families are left to deal with the consequences.
Accountability in a One-Party State
Decades of one-party control and a lack of meaningful bipartisanship created much of this reality. The overwhelming support for the transportation tax referendum made clear that Oregonians are no longer willing to accept it.
Democrats decide which ideas are heard, which priorities move forward, and whether this session produces real change or more of the same. That reality makes accountability more important, not less. When common-sense solutions are dismissed and problems persist, voters deserve clarity about where responsibility lies. Our responsibility is to give our constituents a seat at the table, fight for accountability, expose failed leadership, and make sure Oregonians know there is a better way.
Our Commitment to Oregon
This session is a critical moment. It will determine whether Oregon continues down the path of decline or begins to change course. Senate Republicans are choosing to take this moment seriously. We are committed to respecting the message voters sent, prioritizing what matters most, and demanding a government that lives within its means and delivers real results - because Oregonians deserve leadership that listens.
That is the lens Senate Republicans are bringing into the 2026 short session, and it will guide our work every day.
Oregon in Crisis: The Decline Under One-Party Rule
We want Oregonians to thrive. But right now, the Democrat politicians who control every branch of state government are making it harder, not easier.
After decades of one-party rule, Oregon has become less affordable, less safe, and less accountable to you. Families are struggling to keep up, and Democrats in Salem keep doubling down on failure instead of making the changes that are required to fix this state.
Oregon deserves better than being at the bottom of every list that matters. Here’s what decades of single-party leadership have done to our state:
Supporting Data:
- CNBC ranked Oregon 39th for business; down 11 spots in one year.
- “Cost of Doing Business” rank dropped from 34th to 43rd.
- 11,000+ layoffs reported since the start of 2024, averaging over 600 per month; comparable to the Great Recession.
- Oregon drivers face the 4th highest gas prices in the nation.
- D- cost of living score.
- Oregon has the 5th most expensive childcare.
- Oregon is the 4th most difficult state to save money.
Oregon loses a taxpayer every 1 hour and 16 minutes. That's right. Oregon is not losing people because of a lack of beauty. We are losing them because living here keeps getting more expensive with nothing to show for it. Our economy is unsustainable for families, workers, and small businesses, so they are voting with their feet.
Knowing that families are working harder than ever just to make ends meet, Democrats still passed a $4.3 billion transportation tax increase that we don't need and taxpayers don't support. What's worse: they have signaled several times that more taxes are ahead if they have their way.
Senate Republicans are heading into the 2026 session focused on making Oregon a place where businesses grow and workers succeed. But Tina Kotek and her Democrat supermajority must reverse course on nearly every approach they've taken on the state’s biggest issues. The 2026 session will be a turning point that determines whether Oregon continues down the same path or finally adopts policies that strengthen our economy and keep jobs here.
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Supporting Data:
- The Governor’s goal: 36,000 new homes per year.
- Reality:
- 17,697 residential permits in 2023.
- 14,270 in 2024.
- 11,184 expected in 2025.
- Oregon earned an “F” for housing affordability, ranking 45th in the nation.
- Oregonians need the 3rd highest income in America to buy a “typical” home.
- Oregon has the nation’s 2nd tightest housing market.
Governor Tina Kotek and her Democrat supermajority promised bold action and results on housing. Instead, their policies delivered a full-blown housing crisis with no end in sight.
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Supporting Data:
- Oregon ranks 4th in the nation for homelessness per capita.
- Homelessness increased 16.5% from 2023 to 2024, the 5th largest spike in the nation.
Taxpayers spent $1.57 billion on homelessness in the Portland area since 2023, yet Oregon is still 4th highest in the nation for unsheltered chronic homelessness. It’s time for solutions that actually work, not more blank checks and “compassionate” policies that only create more suffering.
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Supporting Data:
- Oregon ranks 47th in the nation in education.
- Only 33% of 3rd–8th graders are proficient in math, a 7% drop from 2019.
- Only 42% are proficient in reading and writing, a 9% drop from 2019.
- Enrollment has declined five years in a row.
Oregon students are being failed. State-level Democrat policies have gutted accountability, lowered standards, and left an entire generation of kids totally unprepared for the future. This is how Oregon's decline becomes permanent. Families deserve so much better.
Meet the Senate Republicans
Oregon’s Job Losses: A Map of Failed Leadership
Oregon has lost thousands of jobs in recent years—and the trend is alarming. This interactive map shows where communities are being hit hardest. From shuttered mills to mass layoffs in manufacturing, construction, and hospitality, every dot represents livelihoods lost under policies that make it harder to live, work, and build a future in our state.
